Billionaire Michael Bloomberg reaffirms his support for former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo (D) in the New York City mayoral race, highlighting how “Cuomo has the experience and toughness” to defend the people of the city.
In a post on X, Bloomberg, who previously served As mayor of New York City from 2002 to 2013, he noted that serving as mayor of New York City “is the second hardest job in America.”
“Four months ago I endorsed @AndrewCuomo because I thought his management experience and government knowledge made him the best choice for New Yorkers,” Bloomberg wrote. “I still do. And today, with early voting underway, I wanted to reiterate my support for Andrew Cuomo.”
Bloomberg continued: “Being mayor of New York City is the second-most difficult job in America, and the next mayor will face immense challenges. Andrew Cuomo has the experience and toughness to stand up for New Yorkers and get things done. I hope you will join me in supporting him.”
Bloomberg’s comments come as he donated $1.5 million to a Super PAC called “Fix the City,” which is “led by a former Cuomo ally,” the New York Times reported.
The money given to the Super PAC also represented “Bloomberg’s first foray into the mayoral race since the Democratic primary,” and also comes as the city’s “business elites” had threatened to spend approximately $100 million as part of an effort to “eliminate” socialist New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani from the race, according to the outlet.
Although Bloomberg said he “feuded with Mr. Cuomo when he was governor,” he and Mamdani “have more marked differences,” according to the outlet.
Bloomberg’s endorsement of Cuomo in the upcoming mayoral race comes as Mamdani has advocated for city-run grocery stores and suggested sending “mental health experts” to respond to certain crimes instead of police officers.
Breitbart News also reported that Mamdani received criticism for comments he made on a podcast in July 2020 in which he spoke against sending police officers to respond to domestic violence calls. Mamdani states in the podcast that “the police do not create security”:
Police do not create safety… there are so many responsibilities that we have given to police that, frankly, should have nothing to do with their departments… if someone is jaywalking, if someone is surviving, experiencing domestic violence… there are so many different situations that would be much better handled by people trained to deal with those specific situations, rather than an individual with a gun.
A Quinnipiac University poll conducted between October 23 and 27, which polled 911 likely voters in New York City, found that Mamdani was leading with 43 percent support, while Cuomo received 33 percent support. New York City Republican mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa received 14 percent support.
